Automatic fire-escape.



A. W. PAEH.

AUTOMATIG FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION rum] mm. 14, 1909.

978,571. Patented Dec. 13,1910.

M $1 fo 5 Q (g i Q E N w i lzo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMBROSE W. FAEH, 0F OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-ESCAPE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMBROSE IV. FAEH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California,have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Fire-Escapes, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus designed to facilitatethe escape of people from burning buildings, and also generally to lowerweights from an elevation, and to regulate the speed of downwardmovements.

It also includes a means for automatically returning the apparatus afterthe weight has been removed, and to regulate the speed of returnmovement.

My invention consists in the combination of parts, and in details ofconstruction which will be more fully explained by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view transverse to thedrum shaft. Fig. 2 is a side elevation at right angles with Fig. 1.

The object of my invention is to provide a means by which a weight maybe lowered from an elevation, and the rate of movement of such weightregulated while descending, and a means by which the lowering apparatusmay be returned after the weight has been removed, and the upward speedof movement correspondingly regulated.

As shown in the drawings, A is a shaft.

2 is a drum mounted upon the shaft, around which drum a rope 3 is woundas follows: The outer end of the rope carries the belt or loweringdevice 4, and the rope passes over a pulley 5 which gives the carrier 4a clear vertical movement to the ground or point of deposit. From thispoint the rope passes around the drum 2, thence around another fixeddrum or pulley 6, thence back around the drum again, and again aroundanother pulley 7, thence passing around the drum 2 again it extends downto and has a weight 8 attached to it. This weight may be guided in asuitable tube or casing 9 to prevent obstruction.

Upon the shaft A is mounted a gear-wheel 10, and this engages with apinion 11 mounted upon a vertical shaft 1.2. A red 12 extends upwardlythrough the shaft 12, and its upper end has a head or equivalent device14 which engages the short arms 15 of the governor, this fgovernor beingcomposed of balls 16 mounte upon the longer arms 15 of the Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed December 14, 1909.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

Serial No. 532,975.

bell-crank levers. The shortarms 15 before described engage the head 14.

The upwardly extending arms 15 are normally drawn together by a spring17 of sufficient power to normally maintain the governor in the positionshown in Fig. 2.

18 is a clutch of suitable description, the engaged members of which aremaintained. in contact by means of an end thrust spiral spring 19 whichacts against the drum 2 and the movable member of the clutch which movesin unison with the drum, and thus causes the members of the clutch toremain in enga ement. This spring will however yield sufiiciently toallow the engagingmembers of the clutch to slip past each other, whenthe drum is turned in the opposite di rection as will be hereafterdescribed.

The lower end of the governor shaft 12 engages one end of the hand brake20, as shown in Fig. 1, and the opposite end of the hand brake is fixedso that when the governor balls are forced apart by centrifugal force,the stem or shaft 12 will be raised by the action of the arms 15, andwill thus tighten the band brake about its drum, and correspondinglyretard the downward movement of the body or weight which is beinglowered by the carrier 4.

Such a device has been practically shown to carry any weight from 30 to300 lbs. without injuriously increasing the speed at which it islowered.

In order to return the apparatus to its initial point, after the weighthas been removed, the weight 8, acting through the rope 3, will descendthrough the guide tube 9, and will reverse the movement of the windingdrum 2. The clutch members 18 will readily slip over each other to allowthis movement to take place.

In order to regulate the descent of the weight 8, and prevent too speedya movement, I have shown a ball governor 22, similar to that shown at16. This governor is revolved by means of a pinion 23, mounted on thestationary shaft 24, and a spur gear 25 which engages the pinion. Thisspurgear is mounted upon the shaft A, and the reverse movement of thisshaft acts through the gear and pinion to revolve the governor, andthrough it to move the spindle 24, and thus apply a frictional brakebetween the spindle and disk 26 so that the return movement of thecarrier 4 will be controlled in the same manner that the downwardmovement is controlled by the governor 16. In

this manner I provide a device which will operate automatically in eachdirection, and it has been found to be practically useful for thepurpose intended.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. The combination in a lowering appa ratus, of awinding drum and grooved pulleys around which the rope passes, saidpulleys being arranged at opposite sides of the center of the drum, andsaid rope passing from one of said pulleys around the drum and thencepassing from the drum around the other pulley and back to and around thedrum, a belt or carrier attached to one end of the rope, a counterweightattached to the opposite end of said rope, a governor, and a brakemechanism actuated by the governor to regulate the descent of thecarrier.

2. The combination in a lowering apparatus, of a winding drum, andgrooved pulleys around which the rope passes, said pulleys beingpositioned at opposite sides of the drum, and said rope extending fromthe drum to the pulley at one side and thence back to the drum and fromthe drum to the other pulley, and finally back to the drum, a belt orcarrier attached to the outer end of the rope, a counterweight attachedto the opposite end of the rope, a governor, a band brake and drum, agovernor spindle connected to the band brake and means by which thespindle is moved by the governor to apply the brake.

3. An automatic lowering and return mechanism consisting of a windingdrum, a shaft therefor, a gear wheel mounted on one end of the shaft, apinion, a vertically disposed hollow shaft upon which the pinion ismounted, a rope passing around said drum, pulleys around which the ropepasses, said pulleys being positioned at opposite sides of the drum andsaid rope extending from the drum to a pulley at one side and thenceback to the drum and from the drum clutch connecting the winding andbrake drums during the ascent of the carrier, said clutch beingdisengaged when the load is removed to allow the weight to act andreturn the carrier.

4. An automatic lowering and return mechanism consisting of a windingdrum, a shaft therefor, a gear wheel mounted on one end of the shaft, apinion, a vertically disposed hollow shaft upon which the pinion ismounted, a rope passing around said drum, pulleys around which the ropepasses, said pulleys being positioned at opposite sides of the drum andsaid rope extending from the drum to a pulley at one side and thenceback to the drum and from the drum to the other pulley, and finally backto the drum, abelt or carrier fixed to one end of the rope, a returningcounterweight attached to the other end of said rope, a governoractuated in unison with the descent of the load, said governor having avertical stem passing through the hollow pinion shaft, a brake mountedupon the drum shaft and connected with the governor spindle, and aclutch connecting the winding and brake drums during the ascent of thecarrier, said clutch being disengaged when the load is removed to allowthe weight to act and return the carrier, and a second governor actingto regulatevthe speed of the returning parts.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

AMBROSE W. FAEH. Witnesses CHARLES EDELMAN,

